In golf, it is known that putting is ultimately determinative of a low score. Practice does not necessarily make perfect. Multitudinous putting strokes, stances, grips, and clubs, for use either on putting greens or on carpeted areas, do not necessarily lead to improved and consistent putting strokes; each time the hole is missed, one merely knows one missed the putting cup, again. Eye-brain-hand-arm-feet coordination is not necessarily improved by practice; one only knows one missed, but not necessarily why.
It is well known that a person's misalignment of the head of a putter is a major reason for misdirecting a golf ball into a putting cup. Club misalignment can also have a major effect on performance when the golfer uses any other type of club. However, once a person strokes through a golf ball, no way exists to determine if club alignment was proper or improper. The present invention recognizes that many cumulative problems in the performance of most people would be corrected if the person knew, before stroking the ball, in what direction the club is aligned in relationship with a target.
Other persistent problems associated with putting arise because of gradient differentials between the location of the golf ball and the putting cup. In the world of putting, the shortest distance between two points is not always a straight line. Successful putting demands that eye-brain-hand-arm-feet symbioses adjust the orientation of the contact surface of the head of a putter to compensate for terrain and contour differences on the surface of a putting green. Again, no useful means exists for confirming the precise orientation of the club before stroking in such an environment. The present invention recognizes this problem.
It is recognized that any solution to these problems must be achieved using a practice club similar to the club the golfer would typically use. In addition, the solution for these problems must offer a practice device which can prompt a person to make corrections to the club alignment before, not after, a stroke. Further, the practice device should quickly and easily show whether club alignment is proper or improper. Also, the practice device should quickly and easily provide a mark on a target which, in the case of an uneven putting surface, provides a known point at which to aim. After stroking at such a known point on a target, the user of the practice device will be prompted to realign the putter if the stroke caused the golf ball to miss the cup or hole. The known point must be fixed by the practice device with relative precision. At the same time, the known point must be bright and visible to the user for useful distances, preferably at least one hundred feet between the user and the target, which may be behind the hole or cup.
Laser lights, because of their controllable and highly directional beams of light, offer a useful solution. The present invention recognizes that it would be useful to emit a stimulated, coherent light beam from the club at a target before, not after, stroking a golf ball. The golfer may follow the golfer's usual procedures for addressing the ball. Feet will be positioned and aligned; hands will grip the club in the usual way; eyes will scan the terrain between the club and the target; and the golfer will coordinate the alignment in preparation to stroke the golf ball. Then the golfer may switch on the laser light, which should be aligned with the club in an way suitable to the given club. The golfer will determine instantly if the club is properly aligned, by observing the point of impact of the laser beam near a chosen target. On contoured putting surfaces, the laser light system can be aimed at a point on the target which the golfer has selected to compensate for differences in elevation and inclination between the golf ball and the target or putting cup. After stroking through the ball at the point on the target, the golfer knows if the golfer compensated appropriately for such contour differences.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device which allows a golfer to practice properly aligning a golf club before stroking through the ball. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device for allowing a golfer to practice properly aligning a golf club, which is relatively easy to manufacture, easy to operate, and comparatively cost effective.